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I went on a fun "tourist" day with my grandpa around San Francisco. We rode the Cable Cars, walked the Golden Gate Bridge, went to Pier 39, and had lunch together. This is a memory I will always cherish because I had so much fun with him and got to learn a lot about his life and our family that I hadn't known before.

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two summers ago I was at a summer camp in West Virginia. It was real neat and all but also incredibly tiring as we were waking up at 7 every day to go out and take 5 mile long hikes and play sports all day. After the three weeks, I was there for I was pooped and ready to go back home. But a couple of days before I was supposed to go back to the airport the camp director called my parents telling them that I could stay for another semester, I argued against them and clearly stated that I wanted to go home, but they forced me to stay anyway. After that I got to meet a bunch of new people and do so many more things. I made new friends and got scraped by debris from recent flooding in that semester, good times.

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When I was starting third grade, I remember my mom telling me that a new girl would be joining my grade. She also happened to be my neighbor. That day, we both set up ladders on either side of the fence that separated our yards. We talked, she told me her birthday was coming up, and I promised her a gift... which I never actually delivered on. School started rather uneventfully, and one day, I invited my neighbor, Sam over, and we hit it off nearly instantly. I like to think that one of the main reasons why were these little plastic toys that we'd started playing with, which I later learned were called Playmobiles (think of a bigger, more detailed lego). Soon, we'd embarked upon a playmobile collecting frenzy, and even built a small town for them right in the middle of my floor. We kept this up for a solid two years. Creating one, long, continuous story for the little pieces of plastic. Eventually, it had to go, the Christmas lights were taken down, cardboard houses recycled, and figurines packed into a box. Even though the town was gone, we remained best friends for several years after. I will always have fun memories of those times.

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I was happy when I went to EBC in the east bay and MSHTV was there and they voted me for the top 40 game in the camp. The camp was filled the best kids in Norcal which are big kids and kids from Flight Elite and Vision so it was cool to be voted into a top 40 game. Some of the kids could dunk. It was really scary because when I walked in all of the kids were talking in groups and I was just alone but then we were in the showcase games I got to know a lot of cool people and good basketball players.

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At the beginning of eighth grade, my class went on a backpacking trip to Yosemite where we split into different groups based on dietary restrictions and hiking skill. I was put in a group with some people who I had been best friends with since fourth grade and some other people who I had hardly ever talked to before. On that week long trip we hiked about with our backs aching under the weight of our tents, food and clothes. We would wake up in the morning together and slip our feet into our feet into our cold shoes that had been left out in the cold. We would often boil some water for tea or head down to the lake and throw some stones on it. On the day we hiked back down everyone was exhausted and we collapsed the moment we arrived at the end of the trail. I remember sitting against a log with one of my best friends while the remaining group members came down, just breathing in and out and taking cool sierra air.

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Kindergarten was a time of learning. For me, it was a time of learning responsibility. My mom used to send me to school with a jacket every day, but somehow I almost always forgot my jacket at school. This was such a problem that my teacher had to talk to my mom about it. My mom started a sticker sheet that I would get to put a sticker on if I brought home my jacket. This tool helped little kindergarten me a lot, and it helped to motivate. It took me a very long time (and a lot of scolding) until I finally started bringing my jacket home from school. I finally learned how to remember my belongings and how to be responsible for them. This year, not surprisingly, I have used this very important skill. In fact, I have to use this skill a lot. From my few weeks at high school I've learned that I need to keep track of things a lot. I would fail if I didn't keep track of my belongings. Learning this skill in kindergarten allowed me to build upon it through the years. I still remember the piece of paper hung on my wall; it was placed perfectly as to not allow me to be able to reach it. If I could reach it then I could put up stickers even when I didn't bring my jacket home. My mom always had an assortment of stickers that ranged from little bugs to large flowers. She used to carefully peel the stickers from their sheet and place them on the white printer paper. It made me so excited to see that paper fill with bright, colorful sticks. This small tool tricked me into being more responsible, and it has helped me to this day.

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After sending in the high school applications, all I could do was wait. I'd done all my interviews, written all the applications, and completed the SSAT. The day the decisions letters were supposed to arrive was a Friday. I sat through all my classes, waiting to get home and finally find where I'd have the opportunity to spend the next four years of my education. The moment I got home, I checked the mail. There was nothing. Apparently it could take a few extra days for the letters to arrive, so I had to wait. It was the weekend, and all I could do was nervously anticipate what was coming. Later that evening, however, my mom got an email from Bay. She was checking her email on her phone, so she immediately passed it to me. I took it and tapped open the email. The moment I saw the first word, "Congratulations!", I knew I had got in.

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From 3rd to 8th grade my school had Outdoor Ed, an educational school trip held in the outdoors. Last year, my grade was required to go on a 4-day backpacking trip through point raise. Almost everyone including myself was dreading the trip. The thought of not having a shower for four days, and caring our heavy belongings on 7-mile hikes each day was pleasant. The conditions of the trip were even worse then I imagined. The camping food was inedible and the last two days we were caught in a large downpour and winds that were so strong they flipped our tents. However, I had a fun time. Even though I had gone to school with the same girls for nine years and I didn't think it was possible to bond with them anymore, I learned a lot about my advisory. I loved being trapped in a tent with three other girls "fearing for our lives", eating leftover granola bars and gossiping. Reflecting back on the trip, I am so glad I went on this trip because I challenged myself physically and grew as a person.

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My sister and I are very close, I consider her one of my best friends. I try to spend as much time with her as I possibly can, but it is hard because we are both so busy. On one of our family vacations, we went tubing together. We had never gone tubing before and both of us were very nervous because we had seen plenty of fail videos of people tubing. My sister initially decided that was going to go first with my mom. But I wanted to go first with her, so I grabbed her hand and said: "It's okay, I'm scared too, let's go together and I will make sure you don't fall." Then she gave me a huge hug and said she wanted to go with me. We got onto the tube and gave the boat driver a thumbs up, and the boat began to move. I looked over at her and could tell she was freaking out. I squeezed her hand extra tight and told her to hold on. About 45 seconds after the boat began moving we were thrown into the water. As soon as I was able to realize what happened, I heard my name being called. It turned out that my sister was thrown off before I was, and she was about 30 feet away from me. She was scared because she was in the water alone and we had seen sharks that day before. I swam over to her as fast as I could and gave her a gigantic hug and told her that the boat would be back soon to pick us up. This new experience made me realize how close we were because she knew I would always protect her, and I had a blast doing it with my sister. We both cherish our first tubing experience and remember it very strongly. From that moment on we have always tried new things together because we can laugh about the memories in the future.

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My family was in LA to look at colleges for my brother. My parents and my brother went to visit a college before driving to San Diego. My aunt and her boyfriend started driving earlier so we stopped some places and got lunch. After we had been in the car for around five hours, my parents texted me that they were almost there because they thought we were too. It took us another five hours before we finally arrived. Getting out of that car was one of the happiest moments I can remember.

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The high school application process was one of the most stressful things that I've gone through. I studied for the SSAT, attended interviews, went on shadows. It just gave me headaches. Luckily my brother was there for me. He had gone through the same thing when he was my age. He knew how difficult it was to juggle all these thing going on throughout my life, balancing High school apps, school work, outside activities and many more. He was the person that helped me keep my head up in those moments when I thought I was about to give up. It just showed how much he cared for me. He was generous and kind, he was sympathetic. He helped me write essays and when times were tough he was the person to calm and relax me.

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When my sister and I were young we went on an airplane by ourselves to visit our grandparents, in Michigan. This was special because I had only gone on an airplane a couple of times with my parents so this was very exciting and nerve-wracking. It was very entertaining and amusing to being alone with my sister and I had a great time. And I think it made me and my sister closer.
-Mia

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A time that was difficult for me was during my physical therapy sessions. After my ankle surgery, I could barely walk on my own without using crutches. Not being able to walk properly was the most frustrating feeling. Every time I tried to walk on my own my foot would turn in and I would start limping. I did PT for 2 years and gained my strength back. I was able to correct my limp and my foot turning in and was able to walk without crutches. It wasn't a specific day where my walking just changed, but I remember the last day of my PT session. My therapist asked me to race him around the "training track" to see who would win. Of course, I did not win, but the fact that I was able to run again was a great feeling.
Lauren

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I have been playing basketball for 4 almost years. Over these three years, I have had to play every position. That sucks. I mean yea its cool I guess because I have the ability to play any position, but it hasn't let me focus on perfecting just one. This season I have been asked to play power forward, which requires me to do something I have never done before. I have always been an on-ball player, but as a power forward I am required to move mostly off the ball. This allows for the guards to find me for a quick shot. It doesn't sound like it, but this is really hard for me. I'm still learning how to play without touching the ball very often. I have also realized that I don't have to be working on my outside shot. My first few games were very hard for me. I put up low numbers: 2-4 points, 3-4 assists, a lot of rebounds, and a few blocks. I really worked hard with my coach and have started to embrace my new position. This weekend, I played three games and rewatching the tapes I see a definite improvement. In those three games, I put up: 12 points, 13 assists, a lot of rebounds, and 5 blocks (let's not talk about fouls). In my 4 years of basketball, this has definitely been the hardest thing I have been faced with and I am still working hard.